Total nonfarm employment for the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, Ill.-Ind.-Wis. Metropolitan Statistical Area stood at 4,731,500 in November 2017, up 25,900, or 0.6 percent, over the year, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. During the same period, the national job count increased 1.4 percent. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Charlene Peiffer noted that the Chicago metropolitan area has had over-the-year employment increases each month since October 2010. (See chart 1 and table 1; the Technical Note at the end of this release contains metropolitan area definitions. All data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year analysis is used throughout.)

The Chicago metropolitan area is made up of four metropolitan divisions—separately identifiable employment centers within the larger metropolitan area. The Chicago-Naperville-Arlington Heights Metropolitan Division, which accounted for 80 percent of the area’s workforce, added 20,900 jobs from November a year ago. In the Lake County-Kenosha County, Ill.-Wis. Metropolitan Division, employment increased by 9,800. Employment in the Elgin, Ill. Metropolitan Division was little changed compared to November a year ago, while the Gary, Ind. Metropolitan Division had an employment loss of 5,300 jobs.

Industry employment

In the greater Chicago metropolitan area, financial activities had the largest employment gain from November 2016 to November 2017, adding 10,200 jobs. The Chicago area’s 3.4-percent rate of job growth in financial activities was greater than the nationwide advance of 1.8 percent. Local employment growth in the supersector was concentrated in the Chicago division which added 10,300 jobs. (See chart 2.)

Professional and business services employment increased by 9,000 since November 2016, the second-largest employment gain in the Chicago area. Local employment growth in the supersector was concentrated in the Lake and Chicago divisions, which added 5,800 jobs and 4,600 jobs, respectively. The local rate of job growth, at 1.1 percent, was less than the 2.7-percent national increase.

Locally, education and health services and other services added 3,900 jobs and 3,000 jobs, respectively. In education and health services, the Chicago area’s 0.5-percent employment increase was lower than the national rate of 2.0 percent. Other services employment rose by 1.6 percent locally, compared to the 1.5-percent rate for the nation.

Two other local supersectors each gained at least 1,200 jobs: construction (+1,900) and information (+1,200). The Chicago area’s construction industry job growth rate, at 1.1 percent, was lower than the 2.8-percent national increase. Employment in Chicago’s information industry grew by 1.5 percent; nationally, employment in the information industry was down 2.2 percent over the year.

Two Chicago area supersectors lost more than 1,000 jobs since last November: trade, transportation, and utilities (-3,100, down 0.3 percent), and leisure and hospitality (-1,900, down 0.4 percent). Nationally, trade, transportation, and utilities employment increased by 0.7 percent and leisure and hospitality employment rose by 1.8 percent from the previous November.

Employment in the 12 largest metropolitan areas

Chicago was 1 of the nation’s 12 largest metropolitan statistical areas in November 2017. All 12 areas had over-the-year job growth during the period, with the rates of job growth in 8 areas exceeding the national increase of 1.4 percent. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington had the fastest rate of job growth, 2.8 percent, followed by Boston-Cambridge-Nashua and Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, both at 2.2 percent. Chicago and Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim had the slowest rates of job growth at 0.6 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively. (See chart 3 and table 2.)

Dallas added the largest number of jobs since November 2016, 100,400, followed by New York-Newark-Jersey City (+89,300). Chicago had the smallest employment gain over the year, adding 25,900 jobs. Annual job gains in the nine remaining metropolitan areas ranged from 60,300 to 30,000.

Over the year, education and health services added the most jobs in eight areas: Boston, Los Angeles, Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, New York, Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Phoenix, San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, and Washington-Arlington-Alexandria. Professional and business services gained the most jobs in three areas: Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, Dallas, and Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land.

Information lost the most jobs over the year in three areas: Dallas, Phoenix, and Washington. Miami had no annual job losses in any supersector.

Metropolitan area employment data for December 2017 are scheduled to be released on Tuesday, January 23, 2018.

Technical Note

This release presents nonfarm payroll employment estimates from the Current Employment Statistics (CES) program. The CES survey is a Federal-State cooperative endeavor between State employment security agencies and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Definitions. Employment data refer to persons on establishment payrolls who receive pay for any part of the pay period that includes the 12th of the month. Persons are counted at their place of work rather than at their place of residence; those appearing on more than one payroll are counted on each payroll. Industries are classified on the basis of their principal activity in accordance with the 2012 version of the North American Industry Classification System.

Method of estimation. CES State and Area employment data are produced using several estimation procedures. Where possible these data are produced using a "weighted link relative" estimation technique in which a ratio of current-month weighted employment to that of the previous-month weighted employment is computed from a sample of establishments reporting for both months. The estimates of employment for the current month are then obtained by multiplying these ratios by the previous month's employment estimates. The weighted link relative technique is utilized for data series where the sample size meets certain statistical criteria.

For some employment series, the sample of establishments is very small or highly variable. In these cases, a model-based approach is used in estimation. These models use the direct sample estimates (described above), combined with forecasts of historical (benchmarked) data to decrease volatility in estimation. Two different models (Fay-Herriot Model and Small Domain Model) are used depending on the industry level being estimated. For more detailed information about each model, refer to the BLS Handbook of Methods.

Annual revisions. Employment estimates are adjusted annually to a complete count of jobs, called benchmarks, derived principally from tax reports that are submitted by employers who are covered under state unemployment insurance (UI) laws. The benchmark information is used to adjust the monthly estimates between the new benchmark and the preceding one and also to establish the level of employment for the new benchmark month. Thus, the benchmarking process establishes the level of employment, and the sample is used to measure the month-to-month changes in the level for the subsequent months.

Reliability of the estimates. The estimates presented in this release are based on sample surveys, administrative data, and modeling and, thus, are subject to sampling and other types of errors. Sampling error is a measure of sampling variability–that is, variation that occurs by chance because a sample rather than the entire population is surveyed. Survey data also are subject to nonsampling errors, such as those which can be introduced into the data collection and processing operations. Estimates not directly derived from sample surveys are subject to additional errors resulting from the specific estimation processes used. The sums of individual items may not always equal the totals shown in the same tables because of rounding.

Employment estimates. Measures of sampling error for the total private employment series are available for metropolitan areas and metropolitan divisions at www.bls.gov/sae/additional-resources/reliability-of-state-and-area-estimates.htm. Measures of sampling error for more detailed series at the area and division level are available upon request. Measures of sampling error for states down to the supersector level are available on the BLS website at www.bls.gov/sae/additional-resources/reliability-of-state-and-area-estimates.htm. Measures of nonsampling error are not available for the areas contained in this release. Information on recent benchmark revisions is available online at www.bls.gov/sae/benchmark2017.pdf.

Area definitions. The substate area data published in this release reflect the delineations issued by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget on July 15, 2015. A detailed list of the geographic definitions is available at www.bls.gov/lau/lausmsa.htm.

The Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, Ill.-Ind.-Wis. Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, and Will Counties in Illinois; Jasper, Lake, Newton, and Porter Counties in Indiana; and Kenosha County in Wisconsin.

• The Chicago-Naperville-Arlington Heights, Ill. Metropolitan Division includes Cook, DuPage, Grundy, Kendall, McHenry, and Will Counties in Illinois.
• The Elgin, Ill. Metropolitan Division includes DeKalb and Kane Counties.
• The Lake County-Kenosha County, Ill.-Wis. Metropolitan Division includes Lake County in Illinois and Kenosha County in Wisconsin.
• The Gary, Ind. Metropolitan Division includes Jasper, Lake, Newton, and Porter Counties in Indiana.

Additional information

More complete information on the technical procedures used to develop these estimates and additional data appear in Employment and Earnings, which is available online at www.bls.gov/opub/ee/home.htm. Industry employment data for states and metropolitan areas from the Current Employment Statistics program are also available in the above mentioned news releases and from the Internet at www.bls.gov/sae.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.